Luke 9 · Verse 39

Luke 9:39

And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.
Luke 9:39, King James Version

Luke 9:39 in other translations

BSBA spirit keeps seizing him, and he screams abruptly. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It keeps mauling him and rarely departs from him.
WEBBehold, a spirit takes him, he suddenly cries out, and it convulses him so that he foams; and it hardly departs from him, bruising him severely.
ASVand behold, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth, and it hardly departeth from him, bruising him sorely.
YLTand lo, a spirit doth take him, and suddenly he doth cry out, and it teareth him, with foaming, and it hardly departeth from him, bruising him,
DARBYand behold, a spirit takes him, and suddenly he cries out, and it tears him with foaming, and with difficulty departs from him after crushing him.
BBEAnd see, a spirit takes him, and suddenly he gives a cry, twisted in pain and streaming at the lips, and when it goes away from him at last, he is marked as from blows.
WebsterAnd lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth, and bruising him, hardly departeth from him.

What does Luke 9:39 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 39 A spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out - Πνευμα λαμβανει αυτον. This very phrase is used by heathen writers, when they speak of supernatural influence. The following, from Herodotus, will make the matter, I hope, quite plain. Speaking of Scyles, king of the Scythians, who was more fond of Grecian manners and customs than of those of his countrymen, and who desired to be privately initiated into the Bacchic mysteries, he adds: "Now because the Scythians reproach the Greeks with these Bacchanals, and say that to imagine a god driving men into paroxysms of madness is not agreeable to sound reason, a certain Borysthenian, while the king was performing the ceremonies of initiation, went out, and discovered the matter to the Scythian army in these words: 'Ye Scythians ridicule us because we celebrate the Bacchanals, και ἡμεας ὁ θεος ΛΑΜΒΑΝΕΙ, and the God Possesses Us: but now the same demon, οὑτος ὁ δαιμων, has Taken Possession, ΛΕΛΑΒΗΚΕ, of your king, for he celebrates the Bacchanals, and ὑπο του θεου μαινεται, is filled with fury by this god." Herodot. l. iv. p. 250, edit. Gale. This passage is exceedingly remarkable. The very expressions which Luke uses here are made use of by Herodotus. A demon, δαιμων, is the agent in the Greek historian, and a demon is the agent in the case mentioned in the text, Luk 9:42. In both cases it is said the demon possesses the persons, and the very same word, λαμβανει is used to express this in both historians. Both historians show that the possessions were real, by the effects produced in the persons: the heathen king rages with fury through the influence of the demon called the god Bacchus; the person in the text screams out, (κραζει), is greatly convulsed, and foams at the mouth. Here was a real possession, and such as often took place among those who were worshippers of demons.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Luke 9:37-42

How deplorable the case of this child! He was under the power of an evil spirit. Disease of that nature are more frightful than such as arise merely from natural causes. What mischief Satan does where he gets possession! But happy those that have access to Christ! He can do that for us which his disciples cannot. A word from Christ healed the child; and when our children recover from sickness, it is comfortable to…

Read the full comment on Luke 9:37-42 →

Luke 9:39 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiAndG2532
ἰδοὺidoubeholdG2400
πνεῦμαpneumaa spiritG4151
λαμβάνειlambaneitakesG2983
αὐτὸνautonhimG846
καὶkaiandG2532
ἐξαίφνηςexaiphnēssuddenlyG1810
κράζειkrazeihe cries outG2896
καὶkaiandG2532
σπαράσσειsparasseiit throws into convulsionsG4682
αὐτὸνautonhimG846
μετὰmetawithG3326
ἀφροῦaphroufoamingG876
καὶkaiandG2532
μόγιςmogiswith difficultyG3425
ἀποχωρεῖapochōreiit departsG672
ἀπ᾽ap᾽fromG575
αὐτοῦautouhimG846
συντρῖβονsuntribonbruisingG4937
αὐτόν.autonhim.G846

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Luke 9:39

  • Mark 9:20

    And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

  • Mark 9:26

    And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

  • Luke 4:35

    And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.

  • Luke 8:29

    (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)

  • Mark 5:4-5

    Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
lo.
4:35; 8:29; Mr 5:4,5; 9:20,26; Joh 8:44; 1Pe 5:8; Re 9:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Luke 9:38

    And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.

  • Luke 9:39

    And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.

  • Luke 9:40

    And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.

Read all of Luke 9

Luke 9:39 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y he aquí un espíritu le toma, y de repente da voces; y le despedaza y hace echar espuma, y apenas se aparta de él quebrantándole.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et voici, un esprit le saisit; et soudain il crie; et il le déchire, en le faisant écumer; et c’est à peine s’il se retire de lui après l’avoir broyé;
German
Elberfelder 1871		und siehe, ein Geist ergreift ihn, und plötzlich schreit er, und er zerrt ihn unter Schäumen, und mit Mühe weicht er von ihm, indem er ihn aufreibt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		et ecce spiritus apprehendit eum, et subito clamat, et elidit, et dissipat eum cum spuma, et vix discedit dilanians eum: